


Danganronpa: Chains of Trust // Side Stories

by healaries



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-26 19:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30110589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/healaries/pseuds/healaries
Summary: A collection of canon side-stories revolving a cast member from the game, allowing readers to explore their character outside of the killing game and get a glimpse into their past lives.





	1. MARIA DELGADO

The sun was shining as clear blue skies made for what was almost a perfect day. Maria Delgado, one of the most popular new content creators was standing right outside of the convention center’s doors.

As excited as she was, she couldn’t help but feel a gaping pit in her stomach as she stopped herself from entering. She had never done anything like this before.

_ What if I’m not good enough? _

_ What if I embarrass myself? _

_ What if… I wake up? _

The dream that was her life had been nothing short of amazing since she began building her audience. It was such an honor to become someone so well-known and liked by many.

But what if it was only that? A dream.

What if she woke up and was back where she started? A desperate teenager unsure of her future, unsure of everything. Living with her father back in a small town that no one really cares about.

A sigh escaped her lips as she pushed past the doors. Her badge was around her neck so everyone would know she was a content creator and not some random that snuck past security.

The attention was on her almost instantly as all it took was one person to shout her name before a horde had approached.

“H-Hello..! H-Hey…!” She was almost shaking as she greeted everyone, doing her best to keep up with it all. She began giving out signatures before a security guard came to create some space.

“You’re supposed to use the back entrances.” He said, looking at her badge. “Miss Delgado.”

“I… I had no idea…” She gulped, feeling a weird sense of humiliation. “I’m sorry.”

  
“Don’t apologize. It’s for your safety, not mine.”

The ebony-haired girl nodded as she finished up with this group of fans before the guard escorted her over to the creator’s lounge.

She thanked him and found herself in another unfamiliar place, looking around for any familiar faces. None were found, however. She retreated to one of the couches and sat, pulling out her phone.

Opening one of her social apps, she went into influencer mode as she posed for a selfie to post.

“That would probably look better if someone else took it.”

A deep voice caught her off guard, causing her to almost drop her phone as she looked up to meet a pair of bright eyes.

She didn’t recognize the man, but he was wearing a creator badge just like her.

  
“Hey.” He grinned, walking closer. “Maria, right? Er… ‘ItzMaria,’ I guess.” 

“Maria is fine…” Maria blushed, hating how he emphasized the ‘z’ in her screen name. She hated it so much but it was far too late to change it without serious repercussions.

The influencer looked over as the stranger sat next to her, still wearing a smile as he ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair.

  
“Name’s Austin.” He offered her his hand, “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” She hesitantly took it. “You… You’re a creator?”

Austin nodded, “Yeah. I do tech stuff. I’ve seen some of yours before. You’re really versatile, huh?”

“I… I guess so. I mean-- people tell me that all the time. So I guess it must be kinda true.”

“Don’t be so modest,” the blonde laughed. “I think it’s impressive that you can hit so many categories, and your viewers clearly love it too.”

Maria felt her cheeks grow hot again as she looked down. “T-Thanks…”

“I gotta go to a panel soon but I’d love to talk more. Can I get your number?”

Was he flirting with her? A million thoughts came to Maria’s head. She never had a boyfriend before, and now this pretty attractive guy was asking for her number?

She didn’t hesitate to give it to him, along with a smile and a wave as he left.

After watching him go, she decided to get up and walk around for a bit. After idly wandering the more quiet parts of the center, she heard faint crying coming from one of the rooms.

She wasn’t really sure if she should go in or not, but did so anyways. Pushing open the door to find a girl leaning against the wall, crying quietly to herself.

Maria’s eyes trailed down to her neck. No creator badge. Only a V.I.P. badge.

It would’ve been so easy for her to simply duck out and pretend she didn’t see anything. 

But of course she couldn’t do that.

“H-Hey…” She awkwardly moved closer, “Are you alright?”

The girl looked up, her face going even more red when she realized who was standing in front of her.

“O-Oh my god. This is so embarrassing.” The girl sniffled, doing her best to compose herself.

“It’s okay…! Um… Why are you crying?” Maria smiled at her.

“Just… I came here with my girlfriend, but… I just saw her with someone else-- and now I feel stupid.” The girl wiped a tear away. “I thought she was cheating on me, but I didn’t want it to be true.”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that.” Maria frowned. She genuinely felt bad for the girl.

“That’s… awful.” She continued, “I really hate people who cheat. I’ve never understood why you would do that to someone.”

The influencer stepped closer to put a supportive hand on the girl’s shoulder. “But this is just something small. Clearly she doesn’t value you as a person, or as a friend. If you let people who don’t really care about you control your life, you’ll never be happy.”

“I… I mean-- yeah…” The girl was hesitant, “But what should I do? I don’t even wanna be here anymore. I wanna go home. But she’s the one with the stupid fucking plane tickets.”

“Hold on.” Maria dug into her pockets to fish out her wallet. “I’ve got some cash on me. You should be able to buy a flight with this, right?”

She held up a few bills, more than enough for a flight back regardless of where the girl was from.

“Y-Yeah… But you don’t need to do that.. R-Really! It’s okay…” The girl laughed nervously, “It’s okay.”

“Come on. Take it.” Maria smiled, “It’s nothing.”

The girl hesitantly took the money, looking at it. “And… you’re sure?’

The influencer nodded, “Of course. When your hopefully ex-girlfriend asks you how you got home… tell her a friend sent you.”

Maria couldn’t help but frown as the girl started crying again, but this time out of happiness.

“Thank you.”

***

The rest of the convention went off pretty much as expected, leaving Maria to sit alone outside at a table.

She was watching other people’s vlogs and posts about the day when she got a call.

Her dad.

She answered it almost instantly, bringing the phone to her ear.

  
“Hola, mija.” His voice was comforting. “How was your day at the video convention?”

“I-It was really fun, dad.” She sighed, “How was your day?”

“Oh please.” Her dad laughed, “My day at the repair shop wasn’t nearly as interesting as your day at the convention.”

“Okay. Let me start from the beginning.”

Maria explained her day in full detail to her dad, who listened attentively. 

She hadn’t even realized the sun was beginning to set until a guard asked her to go back to the hotel she was staying at.

This day was definitely one Maria would remember.

It was special.


	2. MICHAEL HARRIS

Cool wind. Night sky. Clouds.

This was the big city life Michael had always wanted. He always imagined how fun it would be to stay out late with his friends and do a bunch of crazy things.

So why now was he stuck in an office building click-clacking away on his keyboard?

Did he mess up somewhere along the way? Did he not try hard enough?

He wanted to work in fashion. But now he was just… an accountant. Not even something kind of fun, like a fashion writer.

Just… an accountant.

Where did he go wrong?

These were the thoughts that plagued him everytime he laid his head down to sleep. But now wasn’t the time to reflect on his past. He continued working until he heard his phone buzz.

Normally, he would ignore it. But he was alone. No one else was here. So why not?

He grabbed his phone, unlocking it to find a text from an unknown number.

Having fun?

The accountant stared at the message. Should he reply? The obvious answer was no.

But he was so bored…

Maybe. Maybe not.

He waited for a response, eyes fixated on his phone for a minute or so before he sighed and turned back to his work.  
But then he heard another ding.

Wanna play hide and seek?

Now he was weirded out, choosing not to reply. He set his phone down, turning notifications off as he went back to focusing on his work.

His moment of silence ended quickly when he heard rustling from behind him. Sweat beads began forming, rolling down his forehead as he stood up.

“Okay-- this isn’t funny. Who’s there?” He called out, not sounding all that confident.

There was no response. 

He stared off into the darkness, hoping to see something-- or someone. But there was nothing.

Turning, he saved his work and shut the computer off. He could finish this from home. But when he turned back, he was face to face with someone much taller than him.

A masked figure.

Eyes trailing down, he saw they were wielding what looked like a knife.

He said nothing as he turned and ran for the door. The person gave chase as Michael all but threw himself down the stairs.

“G-Get away from me! L-Leave me alone…!” He pleaded, panting as he slammed into the wall.

He reached the bottom floor as he burst through the door, almost making it to the front entrance. He reached out to grab the door handle, but felt a rough hand grab him.

Letting out an ear-splitting scream, he began sobbing as the person pushed him down.  
“No… No--!” He yelled, shutting his eyes as he saw the knife wielding arm raise.

Another loud scream escaped him as he felt something poke his chest.

…

But he wasn’t dead?

His own shaky breaths were all that he heard as he opened his eyes to see the figure sitting on top of him. The knife, which was clearly not real upon closer inspection, had retracted to give off the appearance that he had been stabbing.

“M...Michael…?” The figure spoke, and he instantly recognized the voice.

Michael could hardly find the words to speak as he cried, covering his face as tears continued coming out.

“W-W-Why…!? Why..!? I-I was so scared..! I-I don’t wanna die.. Please…!” He couldn’t control himself as his chest rose and fell with every gulp of air.

“C-Calm down, Michael.” The figure took off their mask, revealing their hazel eyes and dark hair. “I-I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry-- it was just a joke..!”

Michael recognized the man as Paul, one of his close friends. But that didn’t change the fact he was still in panic mode.

His hat had been dropped sometime during the chase on the staircase, meaning all he had to squeeze as comfort was his tie.

“G-God… P-Please… I-I don’t wanna.. N-No…” He continued pleading.

Paul climbed off of him, “Michael. It’s me. Paul. Y-You’re okay, dude.”

Michael shut his eyes, trying to calm down.  
“W-Why the hell did you… why did you do that!?” Michael sat up, still shaking. “I-I was so… I was so scared!”

“I-I know… I’m sorry..” Paul gulped awkwardly, “Josiah and the others--”

“Fuck Josiah and the others! How the hell could you do that to me!?” Michael’s fear was slowly being replaced with anger.

“I thought you were my friend! W-Why would you try and give me a heart attack!? And at my work too?! I could g-get in so much trouble because of this!”

“M-Michael…” Paul was at a loss for words. He didn’t mean to take it this far, but got caught up in the moment.

“No. You need to g-go… I… I can’t-- I can’t…” The accountant couldn’t finish his sentence.

“I’m sorry-- Michael come on… L-Let me help you fix everything up.” The hazel-eyed boy felt horrible. “I-I’m really.. Sorry. I-It was just supposed to be a funny scary thing-- but… I didn’t-- I didn’t mean…”

“Just go.” Michael said, looking at him with bitter eyes.

Paul nodded, letting out another meek apology as he left.

Michael felt a plethora of emotions rise within him as he fell back to his knees, crying quietly.

Why was everything so hard?

Why did nothing go his way?

Will he ever meet someone who actually cares about him? Someone who sees him for who he is?  
He had no idea at this point, and as the rain began to fall outside he felt as though a cloud had formed above him.

Constantly shrouding him in darkness, and surprising him with rain.

Quite frankly, he just wanted it to be over.

He wanted to be happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Michael Harris is a character from our Danganronpa fangame, Chains of Trust.
> 
> You can join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/Ww5ytaFPQ5


	3. DANI YOO

Sweat began to bead on Dani’s forehead as she stood in front of everyone on stage. Blinding lights helped her pretend that the audience wasn’t there, but they also made it extremely hot up on stage.

Her dazzling blue outfit matched those of the girls she was dancing with, although since she was the leader of the group so to speak hers was a bit different.

The girls gave each other one last smile before the music came on.

This was it. The performance of a lifetime.

The brunette easily found herself getting into the rhythm, allowing the music to take control of her as she followed the routine they had set.

It was going flawlessly, and now it was her moment.

The music sped up as Dani made her way to the center. Her solo.

The other girls surrounded her as she was completely taken away by the music. Her eyes were sparkling as she began going off-choreo without even realizing it.

Despite the fact her solo time had ended, the other girls were simply cheering her on and having fun as she went on for a bit too long; her hair flying all over as she did all sorts of impressive moves.

Her face was bright red as she realized just how long she had been solo-ing.    
  
“Sorry.” She mouthed to the others as she backed away, going back to the routine.

The other girls didn’t seem mad, though. They had fun supporting Dani. Everyone knew she was the best out of everyone.

But that’s not a bad thing. There’s a reason why she’s the leader.

In the end, everyone got their moment to shine and the performance ended. The girls bowed and made their way backstage.

“That was awesome!” Eunji smiled, panting softly.

“I’m sorry about that solo thing.” Dani looked away, embarrassed. “That was stupid. I didn’t even realize--”

Jimin brought a hand to the girl’s shoulder, “Don’t apologize. That was awesome, seriously-- you were so cool!”

“The audience loved you!” Minkyung added, “Did you see the way they all screamed for you!?”

“I-- I guess…” The brunette felt shy from all the compliments, “T-Thank you guys.”

“That was really fun.” Eunji looked back out to the stage. “Do you guys think we’ll get to perform again?”

“I hope so.” Minkyung went to sit on one of the couches, “For our first performance I think people liked us.”

“Oh, trust me-- they LOVED you.”

An unfamiliar voice caused four heads to turn as an unfamiliar man grinned at them.

  
“That’s why I wanna give you girls a chance to perform on my show.”

Jimin exhaled, staring at the man in shock. “Y-You’re joking--! No way!?”

“What’s your show?” Dani tilted her head, looking at him.

“Oh. I dunno. Just this little thing called Friday Night Live: On Air?”

“Friday Night-- On Air---!” Minkyung looked as though she was about to pass out, “You can’t be serious!”

“I’m as serious as ever.” The man beamed. “You girls are seriously something else. You ever thought of doing back-up dancing?”

The girls shook their heads, although Dani thought about it for a second. That actually sounded like a great job for her. Not only would she get to perform but she would get to learn all types of dances.

The man continued to speak, explaining everything to the girls.

  
***

Dani stared out the car window, seated in the backseat as rain came down. They were all set to perform on Friday Night Live, so why did she feel… empty?

Was performing really what she wanted? Is this what she wanted to become?

She thought back to everything. Back to training.

That had been the most fun for her. 

Teaching the other girls what to do in a stress-free environment. Being able to kick back and just have fun while learning the dance.

Now she was about to perform on national T.V….

She continued thinking about it before she inevitably fell asleep.

Drifting off to a much better world.

  
  



	4. ELIAS BECKER

The theatre was dead quiet as the lights dimmed. The screen lit up as logos began to flash.

Elias sat in the back row, feeling a sense of dread.

His first feature film. Something that *he* wrote. It was now playing for at least one-hundred people.

He couldn’t be more terrified.

The entire hour and a half felt like torture as he focused less on the movie and more on the audience.

Everytime they laughed, or cheered, or did anything -- he was always alert.

The reception seemed… okay? It seemed like everything was going well.

But when the lights turned back on and everyone started getting up, it was one comment he wasn’t supposed to hear that completely caught him off guard.

“That was so boring. Nothing even happened the entire time.”

It was like a punch to the face.

Nothing hurt more than hearing that.

He gulped. He can’t say anything. He knows that. This is a professional setting.

But it hurt so bad… it made him angry. That was fine. He was okay with being angry. But being… sad? He hated it.

He hated the feeling of being weak. Memories of his childhood told him that being weak was bad.

Only those who have the strength to survive and thrive will make it in this world.

If you want to be somebody, you sure as hell better act like it.

Elias knew that.

He lived by it.

But that didn’t change the fact he wanted to run out of the theatre and cry. He stood there, not paying attention to anything else as the theatre began to clear out.

“Elias.”

A voice caught him off guard. He turned to face it, and saw the director -- Hannah.

“Hannah.” He cleared his throat. “What did the test audience say? Have you gotten all the results?”

Hannah nodded, “Yeah. It seems good so far! Everyone really liked it. Your writing was superb.”

“Superb?” Elias let out a chuckle, “Thank you. I… appreciate it.”

“What’s wrong? You seem down?”

“Nothing--! It’s just… I overheard a comment… Was the movie… boring?”

“What!?” Hannah raised an eyebrow, “No. Not at all.”

“Ah. Okay.” Elias gave her a small smile. “Perfect, then. Maybe it just wasn’t for them or something.”

“You can’t please everyone, Elias.” Hannah brought a hand to his shoulder. “It’s fine. You did amazing. We did amazing. The entire team is going out for dinner to celebrate, are you in?”

The screenwriter thought for a moment, before nodding.

His green eyes seemed to sparkle as he glanced over.

“Yeah. That sounds fun.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> These are characters from Danganronpa: Chains of Trust.
> 
> You can join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/Ww5ytaFPQ5


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